• in Ireland, potatoes have been given a gene that makes them immune to blight
  • late blight costs $6.2b
  • potatoes are important for poor regions
  • blight ruins 1/5 of the world’s potatoes
  • (look more)
  • GMOs are in up to 80% of foods in the US
  • 80% of GMOs worldwide engineered for tolerance to herbicide
  • This has made increased usage of herbicide
  • GMOs responsible for “Super Bugs” and “Super Weeds”
  • Monsanto owns ~86% of GMO seeds sown
  • Largest seed company in the world
  • Parent of Roundup (herbicide)
  • Canada does not require labeling of GMOs

SE1:

  • Biotechnology the science that deals w/ genetic alteration alters plants on molecular (genetic) level
  • Scientists take a gene from one plant and put it in another.
  • Ex: strawberry plant  very sensitive to frost; parsley resistant to frost. Take gene from parsley and put it in strawberry  get frost resistant strawberry
  • Some plants resistant to disease, some not. Genetic alteration can fix this
  • Changing plants has been around for10,000 + years, ever since people started choosing what they grow.
  • The difference: length of time to make new strains
  • A few (~3?) years vs. 100s -1000s of years
  • Scientist think some new strains are as safe as slow method
  • We have been using some GMOs for 10+ years without ill effect
  • Now there are more advanced genetic modifications:
  • However, today some of the genetic modifications to food are on a more advanced level, such as creating golden rice that provides extra vitamin A to combat blindness and death in malnourished children, or breeding a new type of sweet potato that has extra beta carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A). A new kind of tomato was bred to resist rotting and give it a longer shelf life. Potatoes are bred to produce more starch. Soybeans, one of the most common processed-food ingredients, are also one of the most heavily modified food products. Soybeans have been genetically modified to resist disease and pests, or to produce more protein, vitamins, and fat.
  • Some think rise in allergies  GMOs
  • Europeans not as tolerant of GMOs as Americans
  • yes
  • Crops seem to have major benefits and are safe to eat
  • GMOs produce more food
  • Improved nutrition
  • More resistant to weeds, pests, disease, drought
  • No
  • Lots of question marks
  • Some farming practices w/ GMOs are unsustainable
  • May produce “super weeds” or hurt non-pests
  • We don’t fully know how they affect humans

SE2:

  • Canada’s GMO policy says that GMOs don’t meaningfully differ from other foods.
  • In the US, 70% think that GMOs should be labeled
  • Scientists failing to market GMOs
  • Argument that GMOs are necessary to feed future pop not working
  • Non-GMO stickers have been placed on products that only contain ingredients that don’t have GMO counterparts
  • Orange juice for example

Source evaluation 1

  • Author identified, no credentials stated, authors affiliated with odyssey magazine, bias based on organization unlikely, one author is a chef  possible bias
  • Edited publication, no sources listed, information seems accurate
  • Article written February 2014fairly current, not edited since, created to educated specialized audiencechildren 10-16
  • Evaluation6/10
  • The information seemed fairly valid, from the other sources I have seen, was created to educate, and the organization didn’t seem to have a bias. However, the writers did not have credentials(I suspect one of them may have a bias), and there were no sources listed

Source evaluation 2

  • One author, no credentials, no affiliation
  • Edited publication, no references, information seems to be credible
  • Written September 2014 current, not edited since, source created to educate
  • Aimed at general public
  • Rating 7/10
  • The author and references were not very good. The information seemed to be credible and the author seemed to really want the information to be factual.

Initial Impression:

My initial thoughts are that GMOs are good. They seem to be safe, and in some ways better than ‘normal’ food. I believe that I will be advocating GMOs in my essay, as they do not have many drawbacks, and I believe they are very important for the food industry. I do however agree with the motion that they should be labeled